legitgov

Lawsuit accuses Xe contractors of murder, kidnapping, child prostitution

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:51:29 -0400

A just-amended lawsuit alleges six additional instances of unprovoked attacks on Iraqi civilians by Blackwater mercenaries. Three people, including a 9-year-old boy, are said to have died. Also added to the suit is a racketeering count accusing Blackwater founder Erik Prince of running an ongoing criminal enterprise involved in, among other things, kidnapping and child prostitution. The latest charges, filed this week in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, bring to more than 60 the number of Iraqis allegedly killed or wounded since 2005 by armed Blackwater mercenaries guarding U.S. diplomatic personnel in Iraq. The Moyock, N.C.-based security company, since renamed Xe, earned more than $1 billion under that contract before the State Department, under pressure from the Iraqi government, let it lapse in May.

Senate Investigates Blackwater Subsidiary

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:51:29 -0400

The Senate Armed Services Committee is investigating the mercenary firm Paravant LLC which provides contracted services to the U.S. Army in Afghanistan and Iraq. Paravant is a subsidiary of Xe, formerly known as Blackwater, owned by Erik D. Prince, president of The Prince Group. Steven McClain and Justin Cannon, two former Paravant security personnel stationed in Afghanistan, were involved in a fatal shooting incident that left one Afghan civilian dead and two others wounded in Kabul on May 5, 2009.

Al-Sadr demands full U.S. withdrawal from Iraq

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:51:28 -0400

About 131,000 US troops remain in Iraq, on bases and in outposts outside of population centers. 01 Jul 2009 The ongoing presence of U.S. troops in Iraq "shows that the (Iraqi) government and the occupation are not serious about the withdrawal," a key Shiite cleric in the country said Wednesday. Muqtada al-Sadr made the statement on his Web site a day after U.S. forces withdrew from Iraqi cities and towns in accordance with the security agreement between the United States and Iraq.

SC governor silent as clamor grows for resignation

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:51:28 -0400

After days of soul-baring and often odd confessions and apologies about an adulterous affair, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) went silent as the clamor for his resignation grew. Sanford, who has said he won't resign, made no public appearances Wednesday, as he figures out how to salvage the last 18 months of his second and last term and his 20-year marriage.

ACLU Says Government Used False Confessions

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:51:27 -0400

The American Civil Liberties Union yesterday accused the Obama administration of using statements elicited through torture to justify the confinement of a detainee it represents at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The ACLU is asking a federal judge to throw out those statements and others made by Mohammed Jawad, an Afghan who may have been as young as 12 when he was captured. His attorney argued that Jawad was abused in U.S. custody, threatened and subjected to intense sleep deprivation. "The government's continued reliance on evidence gained by torture and other abuse violates centuries of U.S. law and suggests the current administration is not really serious about breaking with the past," said ACLU lawyer Jonathan Hafetz, who is representing Jawad in a lawsuit challenging his detention.

U.S. again [third time] delays releasing CIA torture report

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:51:26 -0400

The U.S. government on Wednesday once again delayed the release of a full report on CIA's controversial interrogation program. The government had intended to complete its review of the 2004 report and release it two weeks ago. But continued interagency debate about how much of the secret report could be made public pushed back the deadline. [See: US wants to [again] delay release of CIA report 26 Jun 2009 and Delay in Releasing CIA Report Is Sought 20 Jun 2009.]

U.S. spy says just followed orders in Italy kidnap

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:51:26 -0400

A former U.S. spy at the center of a kidnapping trial in Italy appeared to acknowledge a role in the abduction of a Muslim cleric but said he was only following orders, according to a rare interview published on Tuesday. Robert Seldon Lady is one of 26 Americans, almost all believed to have been working for the CIA, who are accused along with Italian spies of grabbing a terrorism suspect off the streets of Milan in 2003 and flying him to Egypt. There, Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr says he was tortured and held for years without charge.

Army faces 20 more torture and abuse claims from Iraqi civilians

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 07:59:31 -0400

High Court to hear cases against soldiers accused of shootings and beatings. The British Army faces 20 fresh claims of torture and abuse of Iraqi civilians in a series of damaging cases being prepared by human rights lawyers in the High Court in London. These new claims lend support to the accusation that the ill-treatment of scores of detainees in Iraq in the first four years after the invasion was systemic rather than the work of a few "rotten apple" soldiers.

Iraq Approves BP-Led Bid to Develop Rumaila Oil Field

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:51:25 -0400

Iraq's cabinet approved an offer by BP Plc and China National Petroleum Corp. to develop the Rumaila oil field after the group was awarded the contract yesterday, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said. The government rejected all other bids made at an oil licensing round held in Baghdad yesterday after companies seeking to develop deposits declined to meet Iraq's cost requirements, according to an e-mailed statement today.

Oil and the Iraq "withdrawal"

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 07:59:31 -0400

By James Cogan. It is fitting that today's deadline for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq's cities coincides with a meeting in Baghdad to auction off some of the country's largest oil fields to companies such as ExxonMobil, Chevron and British Petroleum. It is a reminder of the real motives for the 2003 invasion and in whose interests over one million Iraqis and 4,634 American and other Western troops have been killed. The Iraq war was, and continues to be, an imperialist war waged by the American ruling elite for control of oil and geo-strategic advantage.

Hussein Pointed to Iranian Threat

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:51:24 -0400

The former Iraqi president denounced Osama bin Laden as "a zealot" and said he had no dealings with al-Qaeda. Saddam Hussein told an FBI interviewer before he was hanged that he allowed the world to believe he had weapons of mass destruction because he was worried about appearing weak to Iran, according to declassified accounts of the interviews released yesterday. The former Iraqi president also denounced Osama bin Laden as "a zealot" and said he had no dealings with al-Qaeda [al-CIAduh]. Hussein, in fact, said he felt so vulnerable to the perceived threat from "fanatic" leaders in Tehran that he would have been prepared to seek a "security agreement with the United States to protect [Iraq] from threats in the region."

FEMA Administrator Meets Top Israeli Official to Discuss Emergency Management Issues

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 07:59:30 -0400

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate met today with Maj. Gen. Yair Golan of the Israeli Defense Forces Home Front Command (IDF/HFC), continuing to foster a working relationship with Israel... Administrator Fugate and Maj. General Golan will serve as co-chairs of an emergency management work group designed to discuss problems and issues and to exchange information on a variety of topics... The IDF/HFC partners with the Israeli National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) on emergency management issues. IDF/HFC and NEMA work with FEMA under an emergency management work stream workgroup established under a 2007 Memorandum of Understanding with DHS.

McKinney still held on ship of activists detained by Israel

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:51:24 -0400

Israel on Wednesday reportedly sent home two of the 21 people taken aboard a ship that attempted to break through a blockade and deliver supplies to Gaza. Authorities released an American filmmaker and a Danish human rights activist, according to freegaza.org, the web site of the Free Gaza Movement, which organized the voyage opposing the blockade. The other passengers remain in Israeli custody, among them former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, and 1977 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Mairead Maguire, who co-founded a group that worked for peace in Northern Ireland.

IDF Seizes Gaza Aid Ship

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 07:59:29 -0400

CLG News and Action Alert: Posted by Lori Price. Israeli forces have boarded a ship trying to carry aid and pro-Palestinian activists to the Gaza Strip in defiance of Israel's blockade of the territory. The 20 passengers include former US congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and Nobel Prize winner Mairead Maguire. [Can you *imagine* what would happen if *Iran* intercepted a vessel with a former congressperson and Nobel Prize winner? It makes my head *spin* to think of how fast the US missiles would be flying! Click here for news and actions you can take - demonstrations, petitions.]

UN: Israel does not deny running spy ring in Lebanon

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:51:23 -0400

Israel does not deny accusations that dozens of men arrested recently in Lebanon were spying on its behalf, according to a report published by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Lebanese authorities in recent months claimed to have detained dozens of suspects in an espionage investigation, including several senior military officials.

'Interpol hunting for witness of Neda's death'

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:51:23 -0400

Iran's Police Chief, Brig. Gen. Esmail Ahmadi-Moqaddam, says Interpol is searching for a man who witnessed the death of Neda Agha-soltan. Neda was shot dead in a central Tehran street on June 20, amid the post-election unrest in the capital city and her death has turned into a controversial issue. Iranian authorities say that security forces have not fired at protesters, adding that the incident was "a premeditated scenario" to defame Iran.

U.S. Marines Launch Major Operation in Afghanistan

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:51:21 -0400

Poppies grown in this region account for half the world's supply of opium. Thousands of U.S. Marines descended upon the volatile Helmand River valley in helicopters and armored convoys early Thursday morning, mounting an operation that represents the first large-scale test of the U.S. military's new counter-insurgency 'strategy' in Afghanistan. The operation will involve about 4,000 troops from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, which was dispatched to Afghanistan this year by President Obama to combat a growing Taliban insurgency in Helmand and other southern provinces. [Obama has to keep Bush's opium routes and gas pipelines flowing. See: U.S.-built bridge is windfall -- for illegal Afghan drug trade 28 Jun 2009.]

US seeks European funds, troops for Afghanistan

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:51:21 -0400

Europe must commit more funds and troops to stabilise Afghanistan after the August presidential elections or risk staying in the country indefinitely, the US envoy to NATO Ivo Daalder said Wednesday. Daalder said the United States estimated 17 billion dollars was needed to train and equip the Afghan army and two billion dollars per year to sustain it.

UK Afghan civilian death payments

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:51:20 -0400

The government has paid or is assessing compensation over 104 civilian deaths allegedly caused by the Army during operations in Afghanistan. Figures revealed after a Freedom of Information request by Channel 4 News show $200,000 compensation was paid in the last 18 months. Payouts range from $210 for a woman's death to $39,752 for a "multiple fatality" incident.

Pakistan elder killed by gunmen

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:51:20 -0400

A key pro-government tribal elder has been shot dead along with two of his guards in Pakistan's tribal region of Khyber, officials say. They say that Malik Gali Khan was travelling in the Jamrud area when he was attacked by gunmen. The tribal leader was seriously wounded and died on his way to the hospital. As news of his death spread, incensed local tribesmen closed down the markets and also the Pakistan-Afghanistan highway through Torkham.

North Korea Shows No Sign of Imminent Missile Launch, U.S. Says

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:51:18 -0400

The U.S. doesn't see any indication North Korea is poised to test-launch a long-range ballistic missile capable of landing near the Hawaiian Islands, according to four government officials. The officials, who are privy to information about North Korean launch preparations, said there are no signs of the work necessary to launch a long-range missile during the U.S. July 4 Independence Day celebration.

Does the US back the Honduran coup?

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:51:18 -0400

The Obama administration's condemnation of the coup in Honduras has been lukewarm compared to the rest of the world. By Mark Weisbrot. The military coup that overthrew Honduras's elected president, Manuel Zelaya, brought unanimous international condemnation. But some country's responses have been more reluctant than others, and Washington's ambivalence has begun to raise suspicions about what the US government is really trying to accomplish in this situation.

1,500 National Guard Troops to Border

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 07:59:28 -0400

1,500 National Guard volunteers will be used to support the existing 'counter'-drug program on the border with Mexico. That includes in Texas and New mexico. The plan is being finalized between the Defense Department and Homeland Security. The program would use guardsmen for surveillance, intelligence analysis, and aviation support. They would also supply ground troops who help at border crossings.

Swine flu cases reach over 77,000 worldwide: WHO

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:51:17 -0400

About 77,201 people worldwide have caught swine flu, with 332 having died from it, latest statistics posted on Wednesday by the World Health Organisation show. The data indicates that 6308 new A(H1N1) cases were reported, including 21 deaths, since the last bulletin on Monday. The largest increase in caseload was reported by the United Kingdom, with 2288 new infections including two deaths, bringing its total to 6538 infections including three deaths.

WHO working on formulas to model swine flu spread

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:51:16 -0400

The World Health Organization said Wednesday it is working to mathematically model the spread of swine flu in an attempt to better understand how the outbreak developed from a handful of cases to a global epidemic in less than two months. WHO brought together over 20 independent experts beginning Wednesday for the three-day meeting in Geneva. The meeting comes as it becomes clearer that actual case numbers may be far higher than the agency's tally of officially diagnosed infections. [See: Pandemic planning: Protect police forces from being hurt in civil disturbances 29 Jun 2009.]

Former Marine Claims Illness From Mystery Vaccine

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 07:59:28 -0400

Military Source Believes Experimental Shots May Have Been Given. Clermont County, OH) Target 5 has discovered that an alarming number of U.S. troops are having severe reactions to some of the vaccines they receive in preparation for going overseas. "This is the worst cover-up in the history of the military," said an unidentified military health officer who fears for his job. A shot from a syringe is leaving some U.S. servicemen and women on the brink of death. "When the issue, I believe, of the use of the vaccine comes out, I believe it will make the Walter Reed scandal pale in comparison," said the health officer.

Target 5: Secret Shots

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 07:59:27 -0400

'This is the worst coverup in the history of the military.' 'The shot was never listed in his records... Suddenly, 'flu vaccine' appears on his record.' (wlwttv) All military personnel who are headed to combat are required to take vaccinations. Are these shots leaving some soliders deathly ill? 'But a case of friendly fire, in the form of a syringe, would forever change his life. On November 28th of 2005, David's unit was lined up for what he says was an undisclosed shot... Three weeks later, Private Fey was back in Clermont County on his death bed at Clinton Memorial Hospital. His kidneys were failing... 'The people [sic] who administered the shot never told us what it was.' (YouTube video of NBC Target 5 report)

Rangel: Drug firms have been 'stealing'

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:51:15 -0400

One of the principal authors of health care legislation taking shape in the House accused drug companies and other medical providers Wednesday of stealing, and said they are now offering concessions in the hopes the bill that emerges will not demand too much of them. "Everyone knows that people around the table are stealing, but they don't want to turn each other in if they're going to have to pay the full penalty," said Rep. Charles Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Asked in an interview on MSNBC what he meant by stealing, the New York Democrat replied, "I mean stealing."

Lieberman: I Stand With The Small Minority of Americans Who Oppose Public Option

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:51:15 -0400

By Brian Beutler. The surfeit of polling data showing broad public support for the public option hasn't swayed Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman [R-Israel], who's joining conservative Democrats and moderate Republicans in staunch opposition. Check out this video from Paul Bass at the New Haven Independent.

It Came from Wasilla

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:51:14 -0400

As John McCain's top campaign officials talk more candidly than ever before about the meltdown of his vice-presidential pick, the author tracks the signs--political and personal--that Sarah Palin was big trouble, and checks the forecast for her future. By Todd S. Purdum. As Palin has piled misstep on top of misstep, the senior members of McCain’s campaign team have undergone a painful odyssey of their own. In recent rounds of long conversations, most made it clear that they suffer a kind of survivor’s guilt: they can’t quite believe that for two frantic months last fall, caught in a Bermuda Triangle of a campaign, they worked their tails off to try to elect as vice president of the United States someone who, by mid-October, they believed for certain was nowhere near ready for the job, and might never be.

CIA-Trained Blogger Disbursing Money to "Progressives"

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:51:13 -0400

By Francis L. Holland. Some of us have wondered what Markos C. Alberto Moulitsas Zuniga (MAMZ) learned at the CIA during his two-year "training" period there. SourceWatch.Org covers Markos C.A. Moulitsas Zuniga's (MAMZ) connections to the CIA. Well, now it's more clear than ever that his mission is to increase his influence and build "assets" in the "progressive" blogger community, the better to prevent blogging from getting out of control of the Government.

California taking rest of US on its way down

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:51:13 -0400

[Thanks to Enron troll, Arnold Schwarzenegger] The aftershocks of the recession-induced paralysis in California's economy have started ripping through other states across the US. The flagging financial system of California, the world's eighth biggest economy, has affected Illinois and Pennsylvania whose economies are irreversibly interlaced to that of California. Despite rushing frenetically, neither of the states managed to meet the June 30 deadline to pass the budgets for the new fiscal year that ended on the day.

'I'll pay back': Schwarzenegger issues IOUs

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:51:12 -0400

California has about $4 billion of obligations that it cannot meet. The US state of California is in an economic state of emergency, and tomorrow it will begin issuing IOUs to pay its debt. The state is suffering huge declines in revenues because of the recession and the crash of the real estate market. As well, the Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Installed) and his legislature cannot come up with a balanced budget to address the crisis.

Did leak from a laboratory cause swine flu pandemic?

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 07:59:26 -0400

Same strain of influenza was released 'by accident' three decades ago. It has swept across the world killing at least 300 people and infecting thousands more. Yet the swine flu pandemic might not have happened had it not been for the 'accidental' release of the same strain of influenza virus from a research laboratory in the late 1970s, according to a new study. Scientists investigating the genetic make-up of flu viruses have concluded there is a high probability that the H1N1 strain of influenza "A" behind the current pandemic might never have been re-introduced into the human population were it not for an accidental leak from a laboratory working on the same strain in 1977.

At least 29 killed unlawfully by Israeli drones in Gaza, report says

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 07:59:25 -0400

At least 29 Palestinian civilians were unlawfully killed by missile-firing Israeli drones during its offensive in the Gaza Strip, a US human rights group said. A report by Human Rights Watch, published six months after the operation, said that Israel had failed to exercise proper caution "as required by the laws of war" in their use of drones. Mrac Galasco, a senior military analyst for Human Rights Watch, said that although 29 cases had been highlighted in the report, as many as 87 civilians could have been killed in drone attacks.

US withdrawal from cities brings joy to Iraq 30 Jun 2009

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:56:32 -0400

Iraq is filled with joy as American troops hand security duties over to Iraqi forces and end their presence on the streets of the country's towns and cities. Tens of thousands of Iraqi people rushed to the streets and held giant parties on Monday and Tuesday to mark the withdrawal of US soldiers. [Too bad the US doesn't withdraw from all the other countries it illegally occupies.]

Maliki reassures on security as car bomb kills 41

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 07:59:25 -0400

A car bomb in the northern Iraqi oil hub of Kirkuk killed at least 41 people and wounded 120 others yesterday just as Nouri al-Maliki, prime minister, sought to reassure the country that Iraqi forces were capable of providing security. The blast, in the Aruba neighbourhood, occurred as US combat troops were completing their scheduled withdrawal from Baghdad and other large cities.

Four US soldiers killed during Iraq pull out

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 07:59:24 -0400

Four US soldiers were killed in combat shortly before the American army completed a withdrawal from Iraq's cities. In the attack on Monday, the US army said the four soldiers who were killed served with the Multi-National Division-Baghdad but did not provide further details pending notification of their families. It said they died as a "result of combat related injuries".

US Iraq commander loses cool over troop numbers

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 07:59:23 -0400

Tuesday was a day of celebration in Iraq as U.S. forces handed control of the cities to Iraqi authorities, but the top U.S. commander was less than joyous when pressed on how many of his troops would remain. Speaking via satellite from Baghdad, U.S. Army General Ray Odierno lost his cool at a briefing for Pentagon reporters when he was repeatedly questioned about the number of U.S. troops that would remain in the cities as advisers to Iraqi forces.

Oil companies reject Iraq's terms

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 07:59:22 -0400

Only one of the bidders for the eight contracts to run oil and gas fields in Iraq has accepted oil ministry terms. Six oil fields and two gas fields were available in a televised auction that was the first big oil tender in Iraq since the invasion of 2003. BP and China's CNPC agreed to run the 17 billion barrel Rumaila field after Exxon Mobil turned it down. Iraq has asked the rest of the companies to consider resubmitting bids for the other seven contracts.

US Supreme Court delays decision on Uighur case

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 07:59:22 -0400

The US Supreme Court on Monday discreetly delayed until October a decision on whether Chinese Uighurs who are being held at Guantanamo Bay prison can be released in the United States. Court aides told lawyers that no decision would be taken on the Uighurs "until October at the earliest."

Afghanistan: 800 civilians killed in conflict in January-May -- UN report

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 07:59:21 -0400

Civilian deaths resulting from armed hostilities between insurgents, the US military, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan and government forces have increased by 24 percent so far this year compared to the same period in 2008, according to a report by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. In May alone, 261 non-combatants lost their lives in conflict in Afghanistan, John Holmes, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, told members of the Security Council at a meeting on 26 June.

Report: Major growth ahead for Minot AFB

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:56:31 -0400

Hold on to your hats! Hundreds of new positions will be added at Minot Air Force Base in the next fiscal year, according to an Air Force report... The report calls for the addition of several dozen military and civilian personnel at the Minot base as a result of bolstering the Air Force's nuclear enterprise. As a result of strengthening the Air Force's nuclear enterprise, the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot AFB gains 10 B-52H bombers as part of B-52 force structure, according to the report. [More to 'lose.']

U.S. Officials Had Contact with Honduran Military Before Coup

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 07:59:20 -0400

According to reports broadcast during a special edition of the Mesa Redonda (The Round Table), transmitted on Cuban radio and television Sunday evening, U.S. officials had contact with right-wing members of the Honduran congress and military leaders just days before launching Sunday morning's coup. Moderator Randy Alonso read a report that confirmed diplomatic officials from the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa met with congressional representatives and right-wing military top brass shortly before the military coup was carried out.

Journalists Briefly Detained By Troops In Honduras

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 07:59:19 -0400

Honduran troops detained seven international journalists covering the aftermath of a military coup Monday, freeing them unhurt a short time later. The government also took at least two television stations off the air and interrupted the broadcasts of others. At least 10 soldiers, most with rifles drawn, arrived at the hotel where journalists from The Associated Press and the Venezuela-based television network Telesur were staying and unplugged their editing equipment in an apparent attempt to stop their coverage of protests in support of deposed President Manuel Zelaya. One of the Telesur journalists was speaking on a telephone at the time of the detention, and AP's Nicolas Garcia saw a soldier lightly slapping her hand so she would hang up. [See, in a *rightwing* coup, US media wh*res add words such as 'lightly' to describe physical force and 'briefly' to detainment. Now, if this was *Iran,* we'd hear that the journalists were imprisoned for six centuries and the AP journalist had her skull bashed in rather than her hand getting 'lightly slapped.' BTW, where are the insipid little puke green Tweets about this coup and the wall-to-wall Faux News coverage of same? --LRP]

Obama says coup in Honduras is illegal

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 07:59:19 -0400

President Barack Obama said on Monday the coup that ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was illegal and would set a "terrible precedent" of transition by military force unless it was reversed. "We believe that the coup was not legal and that President Zelaya remains the president of Honduras, the democratically elected president there," Obama told reporters after an Oval Office meeting with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

George W. Bush appointees buck Barack Obama on terror policies

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 07:59:18 -0400

President Barack Obama's claims of broad executive authority to carry out the war on terror are drawing fire from an unexpected source: federal judges nominated by President [sic] George W. Bush, who asserted the sweeping powers in the first place. In recent weeks, three different Bush appointees considering cases relating to war-on[of]-terror detainees have rejected arguments from Obama's Justice Department, which adopted virtually unchanged the positions the Bush administration had staked out. In each case, the Bush-appointed judge said the executive branch was overstepping its authority and claiming more powers than the law allowed.

Police told: stop 'kettling' activists

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:56:30 -0400

Police chiefs must rethink the controversial tactic of "kettling" participants of mass demonstrations, a report said today. The practice of holding people in one place for long periods, widely known as "kettling", cannot always be justified, a committee of MPs found. Members of the Home Affairs Committee said it is not acceptable to impose a blanket ban on movement and peaceful protesters should be allowed to leave.

Were Nuclear Reactors the Cause of the WTC Destruction?

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:56:29 -0400

Part 1 of 4: By Barry Ball, Barbara Ellis, and Russ Hallberg --Portland 9/11 Legislative Alliance. This is the first in a four-part series stemming from our organization's crafting and presenting a proposed bill in late 2008 to nine members of the U.S. House. It urges an independent investigation by national and international experts in science/technology to determine which of the 14 major theories about primary causal agents-fire and thermite to directed energy weapons--destroyed the World Trade Center Twin Towers.

Warning: Britain faces new recession

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:56:29 -0400

Economy set to relapse into dreaded 'double-dip' downturn, say world's central bankers. The world's central bankers have warned that the British economy faces relapsing into another recession -- the much-feared "double dip" downturn. A continuing drought in bank lending, evidenced in the latest figures from the Bank of England, and the threat that spiralling public borrowing will feed through to higher interest rates and inflation, are judged by international economists to be mortal dangers to a sustained recovery.

Franken Wins Senate Battle

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 07:59:17 -0400

Minn. Court Ruling Gives Democrats A 60-Seat Majority [that the cowards are afraid to assert] The Minnesota Supreme Court yesterday declared comedian-turned-politician Al Franken the winner of the state's U.S. Senate race, ending an eight-month-long election saga and giving Democrats a 60-seat majority that theoretically would allow them to block GOP filibusters... Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) signed the election certificate declaring Franken the winner yesterday evening.

Court Rules Franken Has Won Senate Race; Coleman Concedes

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 07:59:16 -0400

The Minnesota Supreme Court has just issued its long-awaited judgment in the Senate race, declaring that Democrat Al Franken is the winner. And Norm Coleman, his opponent, at 4 p.m., announced that he had conceded and contacted Mr. Franken. The 32-page unanimous decision by the state's highest court was released after a seven-months long battle over the seat formerly ~~held~~ [stolen] by Norm Coleman. On every ground, the judicial panel rejected Mr. Coleman's claims of trial errors or constitutional violations, and decided that Mr. Franken's election should be certified by the state as valid.

SC attorney general calls for investigation of governor

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 07:59:15 -0400

South Carolina's attorney general is asking for an investigation into Gov. Mark Sanford's travels after he admitted seeing his mistress more times than previously disclosed. Attorney General Henry McMaster said Tuesday he has requested the State Law Enforcement Division to review all of Sanford's travel records to see if any laws have been broken.

Sanford tells AP he 'crossed lines' with other women

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 07:59:15 -0400

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford said Tuesday that he "crossed lines" with a handful of women other than his mistress -- but never had sex with them. The governor said he "never crossed the ultimate line" with anyone but Maria Belen Chapur, the Argentine at the center of a scandal that has derailed his once-promising political career. "This was a whole lot more than a simple affair, this was a love story," Sanford said.

EPA list shows dangerous coal ash sites found in 10 states

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:56:28 -0400

The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday released a list of 44 coal-fired power plant waste sites in 10 states with a high hazard potential, including 12 sites in North Carolina, seven in Kentucky and a large storage pond in Pennsylvania. The list is the result of an investigation that the EPA ordered after the failure of a Tennessee Valley Authority coal ash pond in Kingston, Tenn., flooded more than 300 acres of land in December.

Pandemic planning: Protect police forces from being hurt in civil disturbances

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:12:59 -0400

CLG: The same cast of characters behind 'mass fatality management planning' for the flu pandemic developed a 'business plan for the Iraqi military market.' By Lori Price. The same 'people' (and I use that term very loosely) panning the International Swine Flu Conference -- New-Fields -- also brought us... wait for it... Iraq oil and gas summits and the 2nd Iraq Security & Defense Summit. Corporate, government, and media players are meeting (after they cough up thousands of dollars in fees) to discuss and manage the inevitable flu pandemic... The architects of the flu kit and caboodle -- the same corpora-terrorists who profited from the Bush/Obama Iraq and Af/Pak wars -- are poised to make a(nother) killing.

Fireworks over Baghdad as Iraqis take over cities

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:56:27 -0400

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared a public holiday and proclaimed June 30 as "National Sovereignty Day." Iraqi forces assume formal control of Baghdad and other cities on Tuesday after American troops hand over security in urban areas in a defining step toward ending the U.S. combat role in the country. Fireworks, not bombings, colored the Baghdad skyline late Monday, and thousands attended a party in a park where singers performed patriotic songs. [Yes, but the unfortunate 'memory' lingers on: Secret US-equipped 'Dirty Brigade' in Iraq forefront 26 Jun 2009 Iraqi security services employ an elite, American-trained force [death squad] with a reputation that leads many Iraqis to call it "the dirty brigade." Its real name is the Counter Terrorism Bureau.]

US soldiers leaving Iraq's cities

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:56:26 -0400

US troops are withdrawing to base in Iraq, six years after the invasion, handing control of cities and towns to Iraq's new security forces. Tuesday has been declared National Sovereignty Day, a public holiday, and the capital Baghdad threw a giant party on Monday evening. US-led combat operations are due to end by September 2010, with all troops gone from Iraq by the end of 2011.

Iraq's VP Hashemi to boycott oil tenders

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:56:26 -0400

Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi will boycott an auction on Tuesday to award contracts for eight oil and gas fields, saying parliament needs more time to study the country's first major oil tender since 2003. Some of the world's biggest energy firms, including Exxon Mobil, Total and Royal Dutch Shell, are competing to develop the six oilfields and two gas fields in the tender, which has drawn opposition from some legislators.

Iraq to open up oil fields for first time in four decades

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:12:58 -0400

Iraq will this week unveil which foreign firms have won contracts to develop its oil and gas fields, nearly four decades after Saddam Hussein nationalised the country's energy infrastructure. Thirty-one companies have submitted bids to develop six giant oil fields and two gas fields. The oil deposits, holding known reserves of 43 billion barrels of crude, are in southern and northern Iraq while the gas concessions are west and northeast of Baghdad.

U.S.-built bridge is windfall -- for illegal Afghan drug trade

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:56:25 -0400

Mission accomplished! In August 2007, the presidents of Afghanistan and Tajikistan walked side by side with the U.S. commerce secretary across a new $37 million concrete bridge that the Army Corps of Engineers designed to link two of Central Asia's poorest countries. Then-Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said the modest two-lane span that U.S. taxpayers paid for would be "a critical transit route for trade and commerce" between Afghanistan and Tajikistan. But, the bridge across the Panj River has paved the way for drug traffickers to transport larger loads of Afghan heroin and opium to Central Asia and beyond to Russia and Western Europe. [As the CLG has asserted for years, Bush invaded Afghanistan to secure opium routes and gas pipelines. Ever see a GOPig vote for a bridge to be built in the US? Never, unless it was for an earmark bl*wjob. See: U.S. Senate approves bill to triple aid to Pakistan 24 Jun 2009 The $1.5 billion in annual funding includes money for Pakistani schools, the 'judicial system,' parliament and law enforcement agencies. Again: WHY are US taxpayers paying for ~~schools in Pakistan~~ [bridges in Afghanistan]?--LRP]

IED attack kills NATO soldier in E. Afghanistan

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:56:24 -0400

A soldier with NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was killed in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack in eastern Afghanistan on Monday while another sustained injures in the western region of the war-plagued country. "An International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) service member was killed in an IED strike in eastern Afghanistan this morning," said a press release of ISAF issued here on Monday.

Obama administration preparing order for indefinite detentions

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:56:24 -0400

By Tom Eley. The Obama administration is drafting an executive order that would give the US president the power to arrest without charge, and imprison indefinitely without trial, foreign nationals it accuses of being terrorists, according to several senior government officials who spoke with the Washington Post and a reporter for non-profit news source ProPublica on condition of anonymity. The order, should it be released, would likely reuse arguments made by the previous administration of George W. Bush that the laws of war allow the executive branch to disregard the established judicial system and domestic laws and rights, such as those guaranteed in the Bill of Rights.

U.S. won't rule out compromise on settlement growth

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:56:23 -0400

The State Department hinted Monday that while the United States is committed to its demand that Israel freeze all construction in West Bank settlements, it will not rule out a future compromise on the matter as peace talks progress... Meanwhile, Israel's UN ambassador said on Monday that the Obama administration has assured Israel it will continue defending Israel at the United Nations despite the allies' dispute over settlements.

Larijani to Obama: Stop 'interfering' in ME affairs

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:12:58 -0400

Iranian Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani has recommended the US administration to abandon its "interfering" policies and respect rights of all nations. "This change will be beneficial both to the region and to the US itself," Larijani said in an address to the 21st Executive Committee meeting of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States in Algerian capital Algiers on Sunday.

Iran's Guardian Council confirms vote results

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:56:22 -0400

After the conclusion of the partial vote recount, Iran's electoral watchdog, the Guardian Council has confirmed the result of the June 12 poll. After the announcement of the result of Iran's presidential election, which saw President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad re-elected to a second four-year term, provoked major protests in the country, the Guardian Council set up a special committee to do a partial vote recount.

Iran confirms release of 5 UK embassy staff

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:56:21 -0400

Iran's Foreign Ministry confirms that five of the local British embassy staff have been released after being briefly arrested over their role in the post-election violence in the country. In a weekly press conference on Monday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said that five of the nine detainees walked free on Sunday.

Denials of US interference in Iran not credible

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:56:21 -0400

By Peter Symonds. The US administration has responded to Iranian allegations of manipulating opposition protests inside the country with flat denials. President Obama declared last week that the United States respected Iran's sovereignty "and is not at all interfering in Iran's affairs"...Just as the press never examines the claims of [Mir Hossein] Mousavi and his supporters that the election was rigged, so it ignores the considerable evidence of extensive US operations against Iran, spanning a range of diplomatic, intelligence and military activities.

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